


Star That Dartles

by Rubynye



Category: The Martian (2015), The Martian - All Media Types, The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: Breakfast, F/M, Morning Sex, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Yuleporn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 14:10:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5459261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubynye/pseuds/Rubynye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris improves Beth's morning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Star That Dartles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aderam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aderam/gifts).



> Title from Robert Browning's "My Star".

Beth is awake, which is already unusual.

After all, she's famously not a morning person, and the last three days they've all run ragged, shoring up everything on the _Hermes_ that's been trying to break. But today she woke up fifty-seven minutes ahead of her chrono, for no good reason at all. She's comfortable, more than comfortable with Chris snugged to her back, firm and broad-chested, his fingers draped over her waist, his cheek tucked to her shoulder. She smiles with her eyes shut, feeling Chris warm and solid behind her, in her bed every night. 

In their bed. It's his room now, too. Beth likes that a whole hell of a lot, more than she ever thought she might. She always liked having her own space, felt sorry for school friends when they complained about siblings invading their privacy. When she told Greg she'd been accepted to the astronaut candidacy program and he counter-offered by asking her to move in with him, she looked into his gray eyes and thought about the chance at a new red planet, and the choice was sadly easy. When she and Chris admitted their feelings they discussed the practicalities, and she worried to him -- she _could_ worry aloud -- about the close shipboard quarters making them sick of each other, giving them nowhere to have their own space. But since Lewis moved Chris in with her, all those worries have dissolved. He just fits, she thinks, leaning back into his chest, into his embrace. He fits like a piece she never knew was missing until he found her.

Of everything Beth worked so hard for the chance to discover -- accomplishment, adventure, a new planet beneath her fingers and her boots -- she never expected what she has with Chris. She tries to be cautious but she's starting to think, to let herself hope ---

Chris nuzzles behind her ear, his whole body firming to wakefulness. Startled out of her thoughts, Beth gasps softly, and Chris presses his tender-lipped smile to her cheek. "Hey," he murmurs over her skin.

"Hey," she whispers back, shifting to better feel him. He's hard, pressed to her, and she wiggles her hips invitingly. They're both awake, after all, with most of an hour to take advantage of...

Chris smiles into kissing her cheek, her chin, her throat, as he slides his hands down her sides and up beneath her sleep shirt, warm and finely textured sweeping along her skin. Beth smiles, closing her eyes as she concentrates on more useful senses, planting her elbow to turn towards him --

But Chris tightens his arms around her, stopping her in place. "Shh, don't, don't turn over. stay just like this, please."

"Don't you want to look at me?" falls out of Beth's mouth, more needy than she should allow herself, but a little hook of doubt curls in the pit of her stomach.

Crhis nods, nuzzling "Mmm-hmm!" into the back of her neck, palming her belly, all doubt melting under his touch. "God, yes, I want to look at all of you." His other hand strokes over her breast, engulfing it; she feels a little uncertain sometimes about how full-chested she isn't, but Chris's fingers circle her nipple reverently, like she feels wonderful. "From here," he murmurs between kisses all along her nape and throat, "your profile looks like the horizon of a shining planet just below a bright star."

"Oh my God," Beth gasps, at a loss for words after such poetry, but Chris stops and laughs a little, his cheek heating against hers.

"Yeah, that's cheesy," he mutters, hugging her inside her shirt, and she realizes he's about to apologize, which, just no.

"No, no," Beth gasps, pulling her arms in through her sleeves, gripping his wrists. "No, that was beautiful. Thank you."

"You're beautiful," Chris says, a little thickly, and pushes his chin forward. She turns towards him and he kisses her, how eagerly he kisses her, like she tastes good, like he can't get enough, as if she could ever get enough of him. He kisses her until she moans, his hands moving again, cradling her breasts, thumbs playing across her nipples until they throb and she gasps around his tongue, seriously heating up.

Chris pulls back smiling, brushes his lips up the bridge of her nose, and pulls her shirt over her head. Beth reaches for his, but he catches her wrists and kisses her palms, puts his hands on her waist and turns her over, settling her face down. "Hey!" She likes that he can move her and lift her, maybe more than she should -- it took them four nights before they had sex someplace else than against the wall -- but right now maybe she should push back, just because.

"Shhh," Chris murmurs into her hair before shifting away, and she can feel the bunk quiver as he strips, before his hands settle on her hips, pulling down her sleep pants, why does she bother wearing those anymore? "Shh, please, just let me."

Beth thinks, and exhales, and nods. Usually she knows what she wants in bed, and Chris lies back smiling and lets her take it, kneels with her hands in his hair and gives it to her. It's an interesting little variation, letting him drive this time. She lets herself relax under his eyes, under his hands, under his attention as he strokes her from shoulders to waist, over her ass and down her thighs, over and over. "I can't stop looking at you," Chris murmurs, and she smiles against the mattress, feeling her cheeks prickle hot, warmth expanding inside her. He's pretty observant. Sometimes she wonders if he'd like to watch.

Sometimes all the edges of her thoughts blur as Chris touches her, leaning down to slide his thigh between hers, pulling her hips up a little, tucking his hands beneath her chest as he kisses all across her shoulders and down her spine. "Chris," she breathes, the only thought in her head, and he sucks a kiss under her right shoulder blade, a hot tingling bruise no one else will see. Beth moans as Chris lays a zigzag of throbbing kisses either side of her spine, and she can't stop shaking, she can't stop saying his name. He bites one last kiss into the swell of her ass, just enough teeth to hurt so sweetly, and she clutches the mattress and sobs and wonders if he's going to go down on her. He's so good at it.

This time, though, he doesn't. He flops down with a little huff and gathers her to him, lying spooned on their sides, his arm bracing her across her middle, petting her hair with his other hand as he breathes softly into her ear. "Beth," he murmurs, as he strokes gently down her throat, between her breasts, down her front. "Beth, Beth, Beth," as he trails his broad fingers over her belly and between her thighs and her fists tighten on the mattress as she lies there in his arms, waiting, wanting....

He caresses her open, lightly, teasing, and she gasps, shivering with heat in his arms. "Chris," she breathes, "please, please," before she even realizes she's begging, and he smiles over her cheek as he brushes one fingertip over her clit so softly she shudders all over. 

"Yeah?" he asks, and strokes her again, other fingers teasing at her entrance, drawing it out like a drip of honey. "Mmm?"

"Nngh!" Beth tries to rock down onto those fingers but Chris holds her tight. "Yeah, please, come _on_ , I want it," she begs, pressing her burning cheek to the mattress. "Please, I want you, please, ple-eee!" as he pushes three fingers inside her, a thick steady slide, rocking his whole hand as he finally goes for it.

As he breathes into her ear, voice rough and deep, "God, yeah, you're so beautiful like this, you're so beautiful." He kisses her between words, stroking her steadily, and she clutches his arm around her and feels every bite glowing in her skin and sobs in swelling ecstasy. "I wanna watch you, like this, all the time, everything you do, Beth, you're so beautiful, I can't take my eyes off you." 

Beth tosses her head, pressing back against Chris's shoulder, melting and rising at the same time. SHe wants to say something, anything, to match the sweet words he's murmuring into her ear, to match how wonderful she feels inside and out, but she doesn't have any words left. She cries out from the bottom of her lungs and Chris subsides into a warm pleased hum, a soft kiss behind her ear, the barest edge of teeth along its rim as he strokes her just that bit harder, and everything shatters behind Beth's eyes as she comes, squeezing tightly around those warm fingers, wrapped up all over in Chris.

"God, yeah," Chris murmurs under her jaw, and Beth breathlessly twists around enough to grab his hair and pull him over her shoulder for a deep kiss. Loosening his arm from around her middle, Chris strokes down her inner thigh, humming the question as he gently tugs her knee up.

As soon as Beth gets his plan through her hazed brain she shouts a high sharp exclamation into the kiss, frantically trying to wiggle into place. But Chris smooths his hand along her skin, tugging her knee up on each downstroke, and she gasps and stills, lets her head roll sideways as he arranges her, pushing her knee up high, stroking down her calf to settle her heel on his shin. He pulls his wet hand up to cradle her belly as he shifts her down a little, his chin in her hair.

He nudges her, and she grits her teeth, letting all her ready tension ripple through her and out again, relaxing in Chris's hold. He rests his trembling mouth on her temple as he pushes into her, and she groans for the sheer full pleasure of feeling him inside her, shoves the heel of her hand against the mattress and pushes into his thrust.

Chris breathes roughly into her hair, now out of words too as his hand slides up her side, fingers brushing the side of her breast. He rocks back and pushes again, and Beth moans easy as breathing, thinking of nothing but enjoying this, enjoying him. She can do anything in Chris's arms. He runs his fingertips under her breasts, wrapping his arm across her chest, his palm over her ribs; she pushes back with both hands, with her knee dug into the mattress and her heel pressed to his leg, and cries out at the perfect hot impact.

Chris cries out too, their voices rising higher and higher, tangling like fingers as they fuck each other, moving in synch. Beth lets time fade out like she rarely can, there's nothing in her head but all her senses alight with making love with Chris, as she grips his wrist and rolls her hips and feels him solid and warm all down her back, thick and hot and gorgeous inside her, as she tips her head onto his shoulder and lets herself scream.

Chris presses his face into the crook of her neck, curling behind her, around her, and wails into her shoulder as he comes in long shudders and she hums triumphantly. He's not even done when he drops his hand over her mound, stroking her with two fingers just perfectly, and Beth screams again as her orgasm hits hard. Chris moans along with her, smearing his open mouth along her throat, pressing his lips to her pulse as pleasure crashes through her, wave after glorious wave sweeping every last thought away.

Whe she comes back to herself, the first thing Beth notices is Chris's soft mouth on her skin, his deep steady breaths rocking both their bodies, his warmth filling her completely. His arms are loose and easy around her, and she squirms up and wiggles around, flings her arms around his neck and kisses him with all her happiness and delight and love, feels his arms tighten gently behind her back as he kisses her in return.

Beth kisses Chris with all her strength, pushing into it, until he slumps a little away from her, his lips going lax. As she plants her elbow beside his head and opens her eyes for the first time in awhile, she looks down at his lowered eyelids, his lashes spread over his cheekbones and the soft upcurve of his parted lips, and realizes she doesn't feel drowsy at all. Usually they have sex at night and she settles into sleepy pleasure afterwards, but now electricity hums through her every nerve.

Beth can't remember the last time she was this awake and happy about it. "Good morning," she tells Chris, sounding almost chirpy in her own ears, but he just smiles and flattens out a little more. 

"Morning," he mumbles. "How much longer can I sleep?"

Beth has to laugh at that, pressing her cheek to Chris's, feeling his smile widen. "Seventeen minutes," she reports, glancing at the chrono, and kisses his closed eye before leaning back and getting her knees under her. "You earned it." Chris chuckles, low and deep, and Beth steps backwards out of bed to take a shower, to leave him to his rest.

When she pulls the blanket up over him he catches her wrist and opens his eyes, brilliant and dark in the low light. "Beth," he says, looking right at her, into her, "I love you."

Beth's heart jumps in her chest. This, this is still new and wonderful between them, though Beth thinks, and intends, it will never be mundane. "Chris," she murmurs, slipping her hand back just far enough to mesh their fingers, "I love you too."

Smiling, Chris closes his infinite eyes and gives her palm a little encouraging push, and Beth spins and unabashedly skips off into the morning.

* *** *

Humming a half-remembered love song, Beth watches the lights turn on as she walks along, panel by panel illuminating the corridor. She knows they're triggered by motion and the shipboard schedule -- it took a bit of programming to convince them to stay off when she and Chris used to sneak to each other's rooms at night -- but she lets herself indulge a silly, happy thought that they're responding to her good mood, to the glow inside her skin. The _Hermes_ creaks and chirps around her and she trails her fingers along the curved wall and keeps singing to herself, keeps on walking into the light.

Beth hasn't beaten the whole crew to breakfast, of course. The scent of coffee drifts out to meet her as she spots Commander Lewis sitting at the table, eating a plateful of eggs and reading on a tablet. She looks up and her eyes widen kind of hilariously as she takes in the sight of Beth awake and smiling.

Beth waves 'hi' and bounces across the room to pour herself a steaming cup. Usually her stomach doesn't want anything solid until she's finished her coffee, but today she's pleasantly hungry, ready for a post-exercise snack. She pulls out a drawer of sweets and picks an apple pastry, opens and microwaves it, and douses it with the packet of icing as she carries it to the table. It's not until she picks it up that she realizes she's still humming, because she has to make herself stop so she can eat.

As she bites into her breakfast, sweet and rich and pleasantly toothsome, Beth looks up to find Lewis watching, eyebrows raised above her sparkling eyes. "Is Dr. Beck making it to breakfast today?" 

Beth doesn't giggle. She swallows her mouthful of fruity pastry, washes it down with a bracing sip, and remembers watching Chris sleep as she dried her hair and got dressed, how he's draped bonelessly across their bunk, cheek nestled into the pillow, mouth softly slack. "Probably?" she answers with maybe more hope than truth.

Lewis peers intently at Beth for another few moments, then points with her fork for emphasis as she says, "This? Is terrifying."

Beth surrenders to the giggle. "Good morning, Commander," she replies, and takes another big bite of happiness.


End file.
